Cooling Off
by Ito Shinsui
- Date:
- June 1925
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Format:
- Oban
- Dimensions:
- 33.3 × 22.5 cm
- Publisher:
- Watanabe Shozaburo
- Edition:
- Published by Watanabe Shozaburo
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
A woman relaxes in the specific posture of "cooling off"—perhaps fanning herself near an open window or garden, the heat of summer demanding a pause in activity and a deliberate attempt to find relief. Produced in June 1925, this print captures a fundamental summer experience in Japan before mechanical air conditioning, when the management of heat was both a practical concern and an aesthetic practice. Shinsui's treatment of the subject is characteristically attentive to the physical reality of his subject.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Cooling Off was created by Ito Shinsui (伊東深水) in June 1925.
Cooling Off was published by Watanabe Shozaburo (June 1925).
Cooling Off depicts figures, bijin-ga, and summer.
Cooling Off measures 33.3 × 22.5 cm (Oban format).